Healing
by TeamChaosPrez
Summary: A quick little drabble about Pearl and the newborn Steven.


Healing

A Steven Universe One-Shot

_A/N: Hey everyone, another one-shot for you. I plan on writing the next chapter of Backstage Protection sometime later today, don't worry. Some headcanons in here regarding Pearl too._

As she held the tiny, squirming child in her arms, Pearl could almost feel the sadness inside of her wearing away… and that left a sort of sick feeling in her chest. She wasn't as depressed over the death of the one she had loved the most, and she couldn't help but believe that she was sort of betraying the memory of Rose Quartz in a way.

However, it was more than a little difficult for her to stay completely upset when she was holding her newborn charge for the first time in the three weeks he had been alive. It was almost as if he had a sort of calming and healing presence to him, so much like his late mother. A pale hand reached down to grip one of his tiny pudgy ones. She had refused to hold him until now, unable to help her blame for the death of Rose placed upon him. To be honest, she couldn't even remember his name.

She knew it had started with an 's' and that it was a human name. She quietly felt his fingers, trying to remember. He looked much like Greg, but there was definitely some Rose mixed in.

"Samuel?" Pearl tried, watching the baby's face for any reaction. He stayed asleep. "Scott? Severus?"

She sighed a little and hesitated, trying to think of a better, more common name. Rose had been fond of the more common human names, and wasn't likely to have chosen a complicated and rare one.

"Steven?"

The newborn squirmed a bit and made a tiny sleepy noise, scrunching up his chubby face and blinking open his dark eyes to look at her. She was unable to help a tiny unnecessary breath. She was often very unimpressed by anything to do with humans, but she had to admit that seeing a brand new life was very awe-inspiring.

"Hello, Steven." She murmured softly, unable to resist giving him a light peck on the forehead. The baby made a tiny noise again and lightly patted her pale face with his free chubby hand.

The affection for her tiny son figure was growing by the moment, and she slowly sat down with him still cradled in her arms. Steven squirmed a little again and cooed at her.

_How could I have ever disliked such an adorable little human…? _She thought to herself. The last remaining pieces of her former bitterness were let out in just calling him a human; she wasn't willing to consider the thing that had taken Rose away from her a fellow Gem just yet.

She parted the blanket he was held in and carefully lifted his little shirt. Sure enough, Rose's gem was on his belly, in the exact spot his mother's had been. She sighed a bit, letting her fingers brush against the quartz and thinking. Technically, this was just a regeneration, just a bit more… advanced and less likely to…

Oh, who was she kidding. Rose was gone. The sooner she accepted that the better off she would be. Steven was different from her; less powers, more fragile and vulnerable, completely different personality and emotions.

Steven hadn't _asked _for Rose to be taken away in order for him to be born. He hadn't caused any of this. None of this pain and hurting was his fault. He was innocent. Pearl quietly bit her lip and shifted him so that he was propped up against her shoulder.

"I'm sorry." She murmured, though she knew Steven wouldn't be able to understand her quite yet. He wouldn't remember any of this; any of her giving him disdainful looks and refusing to hold him until Garnet left on a solo mission while Amethyst and Greg watched that _stupid _television show.

And now, she was determined to never give him anything close to this to remember. She would protect Rose's son, raise him to the best of her ability. No harm would come to Steven Quartz Universe with Pearl around; not now, not ever.

She was caught off guard when there was a blast of light blue and Garnet appeared on the warp pad. The tall leader glanced over at her as she finished bubbling the gem she had recovered while off on her mission. It took a moment for the fusion to speak.

"I see you've made peace with Steven."

Pearl scoffed a bit as she felt the baby on her shoulder relax and his breathing slow significantly; he had fallen asleep again, and for some reason the affection in her chest grew with this revelation.

"I guess I have," she replied softly as though not to wake him.

The dark-skinned gem walked over and lightly patted the baby's head. Garnet had accepted him from the beginning along with Greg, resulting in a disagreement with her teammates that lasted a few days; Amethyst and Pearl had both been quite bitter towards Steven for 'killing Rose.'

"He's rather endearing, don't you think?" Pearl asked, still fairly quietly, smiling a bit at the newborn asleep on her shoulder and almost making a soft adoring noise when she realized that he'd fallen asleep facing her.

"I've known that since he was born." Garnet replied, her voice displaying little emotion as it usually did, though a bit of affection could be detected in her tone.

"… I'm sorry."

The fusion scoffed a bit, turning to enter the Crystal Temple. "Don't apologize to me. Just don't treat him coldly like that again. Humans require a lot of attention and love early on in their lives."

The white gem was almost offended by this warning, but she knew that there was probably some logic in Garnet's words; Pearl had always been excellent at holding grudges, a bit too good for her own wellbeing, perhaps.

"I won't." She assured with a small nod. "I don't think I'm capable of neglecting him like that again."

A small sigh left the sleeping Steven as if he had understood and approved of this, a faint glow almost tangible coming from the gem on his belly. The gem holding him gave a faint smile, taking that to mean she had gained a final approval from Rose.

Pearl was still sad over it, of course, but now that she had a new purpose to fulfill it wasn't so consuming.


End file.
